X-Rays & Ultrasounds

Imaging services are available at Alpine Animal Hospital with x-rays (radiographs) and ultrasound. In many cases, imaging can play an important role in diagnosing what is, or is not, wrong with your pet. Traditional radiographs (x-rays) are great for the screening and diagnosis of a wide variety of ailments. An x-ray is ideal for imaging bone, and we use it routinely for assessment of fractures, arthritis, bone infections, tumors of the skeleton, and joint luxations, among others. X-rays can also be used to obtain two-dimensional images of soft tissue, including the lungs, heart, and the size, shape, and spatial orientation of abdominal organs. Occasionally, we might find foreign material on x-rays of a pet, including bullets or pellets, stones, metal, and some other materials. Did your pet swallow a toy or other foreign object? For soft items like fabric, wood, and plastics, we can administer a special dye called barium to outline these foreign materials in the gastrointestinal
tract.

Alpine is proud to also offer ultrasound imaging for dogs and cats. Ultrasound builds on the diagnostic information obtained by two-dimensional radiographs, by visualizing the third dimension of the soft tissue organs. It is excellent for evaluating the internal structure and detail of abdominal organs, including the liver, spleen, kidneys, urinary bladder, gastrointestinal tract, and pancreas. Ultrasound is essential for imaging cancerous masses, as we can assess blood flow via the ultrasound’s Doppler setting. This is useful for deciding if surgery could be helpful or even possible. Ultrasound technology is frequently utilized to guide sterile urine collection and needle biopsies of internal masses or organ abnormalities. Ultrasound is a non-invasive diagnostic test that is side effect free. It commonly gives us a great deal of diagnostic information quickly and painlessly.

Mineralized trichobezoar (a hairball!) in a young catDr. Nichols performs ultrasound on the urinary bladder of a dog